Mitchell, Young help New Zealand level ODI series with India

Daryl Mitchell scored an unbeaten 131 from 117 balls to lead New Zealand to a seven-wicket win over India in the second One-Day International on Wednesday and level the three-match series at 1-1. New Zealand won the toss and sent India into bat, restricting the hosts to 284/7 in Rajkot. The visitors chased down that target with 15 deliveries remaining to set up a series decider. Mitchell, who has been in fine form in ODI cricket and scored 761 runs in 2025 at an average of 54.35, came in with New Zealand in a difficult position at 46-2.

The 34-year-old quickly built a strong partnership with Will Young as the pair combined for 162 runs, with Mitchell being dropped on 80 by Prasidh Krishna before going on to notch his eighth ODI century. “We haven’t won here for a couple of years. Nice to get a win. I am just enjoying doing the job for the country,” Mitchell said. Young (87) also came close to scoring a century before he top-edged a Kuldeep Yadav delivery and sent the ball looping into Nitish Kumar Reddy’s hands, ending the partnership.

New Zealand win the 2nd ODI in Rajkot and level the series 1-1

Scorecard https://t.co/x1fEenI0xl#TeamIndia | #INDvNZ | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/XZioDArcsG

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 14, 2026

It was too little too late from India, however, as Mitchell and Glenn Phillips (32) took New Zealand over the finish line and helped them complete their highest-ever ODI run chase in India. Earlier, Kristian Clarke took three decisive wickets to stall India’s top-order, sending Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli back to the dressing room. KL Rahul was the cornerstone of India’s innings as he struck an unbeaten 112 from 92 balls. He put together a 73-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja (27) and added another 57 with Reddy (20) as he scored his eighth century and also recorded his joint-highest score in the 50-over format.